214 SHALLOWNESS OF THE RIVER. 



vented the people from coming to us with both 

 ivory and provisions : I therefore told them, 

 through the medium of the interpreter, that if 

 I heard of their preventing any other canoes from 

 coming alongside, I would throw them over- 

 board, and that I would not allow spies to be in 

 the vessel for a single moment. It appeared 

 that they had received instructions to watch 

 everything on board, and to see what commodi- 

 ties were contained in the vessel ; for the sove- 

 reigns Attah and Abboka, being extensive mer- 

 chants, had determined not to allow their sub- 

 jects to trade until they had selected the best 

 articles for themselves. 



At 7. 30 p. M. owing to the darkness of the 

 night, we got into shoal water, where we an- 

 chored. The river from the Accowaree market 

 through the Eboe country is extremely shallow : 

 since I was here with the canoe the week before, 

 it had fallen very considerably. 



The Maccadania or Shea butter I had pur- 

 chased and brought down with me from Iddah 

 was now expended ; but fortunately I managed 

 to procure two large pots of it this morning, 

 which would last us two or three weeks. The 

 engine on the whole worked very well : the only 



